How long does Washington ESD unemployment take to make a decision on pending claims?

That's what I was afraid of hearing. Did they give you any updates during the process or did it just randomly get approved one day?

Mine just changed status one morning without any notification. Check your account daily because they don't always send email alerts when things update.

I had the same problem with getting through to Washington ESD by phone until someone told me about Claimyr. It's a service that calls for you and gets you connected to an actual agent. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows exactly how it works.

Never heard of that before but honestly at this point I'm willing to try anything. The phone situation is ridiculous.

Is that legitimate? I'm scared to give my info to random services but I'm also desperate to talk to someone.

It just says 'Adjudication in Progress' but doesn't specify what type of adjudication. Is there a way to find out more details?

That's the generic status they use for everything unfortunately. If you can get through to an agent they can tell you specifically what they're reviewing, but that's the challenge.

12 weeks is definitely excessive. Did your state rep's office give you any help or just acknowledge they received your complaint?

They said they'd 'look into it' but that was 3 weeks ago and haven't heard back. I'm about to lose my apartment.

This is exactly why I started using Claimyr after my first month of getting nowhere. Sometimes you just need to actually talk to someone to get things moving instead of waiting indefinitely.

I've tried that too. Called at 8:00 AM sharp when they open and still get busy signals. The volume is just too high.

that sucks, thought that might work since fewer people calling then

I did complete ID.me but it was pretty confusing. How do you know if it went through properly?

You should get a confirmation email from ID.me and then your Washington ESD account should show that verification is complete. If you're not sure, might be worth going through it again.

How do you file a complaint with the AG's office? Is there a specific process for Washington ESD issues?

Go to the Washington State Attorney General website and look for consumer complaints. There's a section specifically for state agency issues including Washington ESD.

Definitely trying this. At 12 weeks I think that qualifies as unreasonable delay.

That's exactly what I'm worried about - that there's some missing piece I don't know about. How much does that service cost?

They focus on getting you connected rather than charging high fees. Worth checking their site for current info. For me it was worth it just for the peace of mind of actually talking to someone.

That uncertainty is definitely the hardest part. Most of the time it's just their processing backlog, not anything you did wrong.

Thanks, that's reassuring. The stress of not knowing is almost worse than the financial pressure.

I've been doing that but it feels pointless since they all show $0. Good to know it's still necessary.

Exactly right. Once your claim is approved they'll process all those pending weeks retroactively. Miss filing them and you lose those weeks forever.

Wow that's amazing! So they were able to tell you exactly what was holding it up?

Yeah, turns out my former employer has 10 business days to respond to Washington ESD's inquiry and they were on day 12. Agent put a rush on it and said I should see movement within a few days.

I'm definitely trying this today. 12 weeks is insane and if I can actually talk to someone maybe I can get some answers.

That's probably not intentional but the effect is the same. The barriers to actually getting help are ridiculous.

whether its intentional or not the result is people who need help cant get it

8-12 weeks total? That's brutal. How is anyone supposed to survive that long without income?

It's definitely not sustainable for most people. That's why getting through to an agent to check for any issues early on is so important.

7 weeks seems to be about average from what I'm seeing. Did you have any complications or was it pretty straightforward?

Pretty straightforward layoff, no misconduct issues or anything complicated. Still took that long just for regular processing.

That's exactly what I was worried about! So glad you figured out what the issue was. I'm definitely going to check my ID verification status.

Same thing happened to me with ID.me. It's like their systems don't talk to each other properly. Good thing you were able to get it sorted out.

This is why talking to an actual person is so valuable. These technical issues between systems are impossible to figure out on your own.

Good advice. I've been keeping notes but not very organized. Should probably put together a proper timeline.

Exactly. Even simple notes with dates can make a big difference if you need to escalate your case.

You're absolutely right. The fact that these workarounds are necessary shows how broken the system really is.

right? like we pay taxes for these services but then cant actually access them when we need help

Thanks for all the advice everyone. At least now I know this is somewhat normal and have some options if it drags on much longer. Going to try that Claimyr thing if I don't see any movement by week 8.

That sounds like a reasonable plan. Hope your claim gets approved soon!